Ideas and resources for a great garden

Gardening can be more than a relaxing pastime. A well-maintained garden can be the crowning glory of a fine home, and even the humblest abode looks better with a nicely-tended garden. Read on to discover how caring for the growing plants around a house can reflect powerfully on the house itself and its owners.

For garden plants that crave and need a lot of water, use five gallon buckets to keep those thirsty fruits and vegetables happy. Simply drill or punch several 1/8″ to 1/4″ holes into the bottom of a five gallon bucket, fill with water and set near the parched plant. Gravity allows for a slow and steady watering of those plants and if you live in an area where you get frequent rain, you will be capturing plenty of rain water to keep those buckets fairly full all season long.

Check your store bought soil for pests. If you buy from big home improvement stores, your soil may have pests such as aphids. To kill the insects and their larvae, put the soil in a metal baking pan and place it covered in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool before using.

If you are introducing children to gardening, start them off with an herb garden. Herbs are easy to grow and you can start them in containers, which are easier for children to handle. When children see that the herbs they grow can be used in your cooking, they will be very proud of their accomplishment.

Consider using weed-control cloth in your garden. Weeds cause a tremendous amount of work for any gardener. While the cloth is not the most attractive option, it does its job. If you place strips of the material in between the rows of your garden, it will keep out the vast majority of the weeds.

Plan out where you will plant certain vegetables in your garden before planting them. You need to know how tall and how wide certain plants get, so that you can avoid overcrowding your plants. Knowing ahead of time what you can expect from your plants will also help you place them far enough apart so that you can walk between them easily if necessary.

To make sure you’re getting a level edge when pruning your bushes, use a piece of rope or a line. Simply fasten the rope to two pieces at the approximate height you’d like the bush to be at. Seeing the bush along this straight line will make it easy to see if it’s level at a glance.

Wash off your garden harvest before taking it inside your home. Use a laundry basket or some other plastic basket with holes. You can spray down your fruits and vegetables easily with water inside the basket, and the water and dirt will run out. You could also save the water that runs out to water your plants with.

A good garden says a great deal about its gardeners. The best gardeners are innovators, always on the lookout for new ideas and handy tips. A garden tended well, which features a rotation of novel plantings and features, conveys to every observer the diligence, sensitivity and imagination of the gardener who maintains it.